[droid23]

I would skip on the Carat if I was you. No need for that set especially since you got the Himalayas. That will resort to collecting dust imo. Its no where near the refinement of the Himalaya. Its got detailed highs but resorts to fake forward highs for that detail and smoothness is another matter. Once you get acclimated to the V sound signature its not all that refined or are they engaging, especially when the mids are no where close to the refinement that is on the Himalaya. I know it is a tall task for a budget set to compete but in this case they sound like how much they cost imo. Its not a terrible set but not great either. It don't help it has one of the most narrow stages for IEMs as well. Its all in your head.

Thanks! I skipped Carat, I anyway wanted to buy only one of these "budget" 1DDs. because I'm stoked by other IEMs on the horizon e.g. AFUL Explorer, DITA Audio Project M, Simgot Supermix 4.. holy moly, wish I could try all of these but normal humans don't have that luxury .

 

[o0genesis0o]

The bass is dominant even when I take them 50% outside my ears.

Ouch, that’s bad.

Have you tried FiiO FF3? The OG one, not the revision. I bought it because I spent the whole morning at my local hifi store and unbox many of their demo units, so I figure I should grab something before leaving. Those flathead buds blew my mind thus began the obsession with flathead and DIY.

Even FF3 was not that bass dominant as you described

 

[baskingshark]

The current CEO places no value on design. He put an operations manager in charge of Apple’s design efforts and hired the guy who invented the E-Trade baby to put in charge of Apple’s ad campaigns. Design has been completely devalued at Apple and the result is these lifeless, featureless and boring designs. Minimalist design doesn’t have to be lifeless, featureless and boring but that is what you’ll get when you alienate world class designers.

We also have Apple to blame for the loss of the 3.5 mm jack on phones.

Having said that, this propeitiary cash grab decision from them did kick start the dongle revolution of the past few months (which admittedly can give good sound for cheap).

How on God's green earth did my CCA Hydro end up getting shipped to the Netherlands? First time it's ever taken that route. It's gonna be awhile before I see those land in my mailbox. I bet the Project M get here quicker?

That has happened a few times to me. I messaged the seller on Ali and they claimed it is apparently cheaper to send it there via that route?

Anyway I will keep an eye on tracking just to make sure it ain't a fake tracking number shenanigan that Ali sellers use to bypass the penalties for not shipping out the product within a time window.

I was thinking today how with all the great single DD sets recently in the $125-150 range it's a little sad to see the Tinhifi T5S get forgotten so quickly considering how nice it sounds.

It is sad but being average or even above average in today's chifi scene is the same as a death sentence.

Hypetrains come and go weekly so most stuff are forgotten and relegated to a footnote on forums come next week, when a new shiny toy comes.

FAIL!!!

The KZ Merga arrived today, and even by old KZ standards, this one is unlistenable. Even with the NF tips that recently saved the OD200, nothing can save this one.

One word to describe the dual dynamic Merga : CRISPY

The bass is too linear, lacks any punch or heft, and the upper mids and lower treble are stuck in a perpetual frying pan or old school TV static loop. CRISPY FRIED.

So if the Sea Elf or the Star River were my most disappointing or worst IEM purchase of 2023, then at the almost midway point of 2024, the KZ Merga step up to the podium to receive the medal for worst purchase of 2024. Thank Goodness I think I paid $14.00 for this thing, but it's $14 I ain't never getting back! LOL

On a more positive note, the Dita Project M have shipped, and should have them within the week?

Thanks for taking one for the team!!

EM10, DaVinci, Pilgrim or Project M?

The only correct headfi answer is all 3.

I'm unsure. The frequency response curve on the Moondrop website looks completely different from the one I've measured. However, to my ears, the curve I've posted accurately represents their sound. The bass is notably strong and covers a big part of the mid-range, even without a perfect fit.

I suspect the way @atechreviews put the earbuds to the coupler is too tight, just like what @o0genesis0o said, earbuds should be put "hanging" on concha and doesn't sealed well like IEMs.

@atechreviews your IEMs measurements are great and "correct" but since you also concur that the sound is mimic Moondrop's FR, probably you didn't use artificial ear and leave the earbuds hangin on concha did you?
I never measure earbuds and headphones too since coupler only rig will be very off, they need artificial ears that mimic actual wearing style on human ears.

I actually used an artificial ear for this measurement, as I obviously can't measure an earbud directly on a coupler. However, the artificial ear I used is basic and not lab-grade. I didn't use HATS or an accurate B&K 5218 for this measurement. Adjusting the fit affected the bass, but it remained within the range of measurement error.

Note: I mentioned that my listening impression matches the curve I measured and posted above. The bass is dominant even when I take them 50% outside my ears. Please take everything I said with a grain of salt, as this is just my experience and I am not an expert on earbuds. Listening experiences are subjective. Hopefully, other members will have it and share their own experiences, which will help us get a better view.

Bro, this is the common consensus in the earbuds thread and amongst earbud enthusiasts:

Earbud graphs are a meme.

They are the most finicky transducers in terms of fit.
So even slight movements in positioning of the bud on a coupler will skew the graph tremendously. A few mm will make the graphs amazingly different.

Not to mention different foam covers, depth of insertion, sound card etc.

Also, a earbud that shows a certain graph on a coupler doesn't translate to what the end user hears, as that is only for that particular coupler insertion. Earbud positioning and ear anatomy will change the final perceived sound from the coupler graph, much more than headphones or iems.

For that reason, most in the earbud threads don't measure or provide graphs due to the huge inter and intra user variability. They are perhaps only useful for the same user measuring and comparing two earbuds on the same coupler for tonal differences, even that doesn't translate to what that user will hear in the ears.

 

[o0genesis0o]

:

Earbud graphs are a meme.

They are the most finicky transducers in terms of fit.
So even slight movements in positioning of the bud on a coupler will skew the graph tremendously. A few mm will make the graphs amazingly different.

Not to mention different foam covers, depth of insertion, sound card etc.

Also, a earbud that shows a certain graph on a coupler doesn't translate to what the end user hears, as earbud positioning and ear anatomy will also change the final perceived sound, much more than headphones or iems.

For that reason, most in the earbud threads don't measure or provide graphs due to the huge inter and intra user variability. They are perhaps only useful for the same user measuring and comparing two earbuds on the same coupler for tonal differences, even that it doesn't translate to what that user will hear in the ears.

I think Chinese factory actually bluetack the drivers to the coupler just to check if they make sound according to the plan before selling

Edit: @Surf Monkey to be fair, MacBook becomes much much better after Ive left. My new M1 Pro macbook can run bigger LLM model fully on GPU, on battery, with as good performance as my big laptop with nvidia graphics.

 

[DynamicEars]

I actually used an artificial ear for this measurement, as I obviously can't measure an earbud directly on a coupler. However, the artificial ear I used is basic and not lab-grade. I didn't use HATS or an accurate B&K 5218 for this measurement. Adjusting the fit affected the bass, but it remained within the range of measurement error.

Note: I mentioned that my listening impression matches the curve I measured and posted above. The bass is dominant even when I take them 50% outside my ears. Please take everything I said with a grain of salt, as this is just my experience and I am not an expert on earbuds. Listening experiences are subjective. Hopefully, other members will have it and share their own experiences, which will help us get a better view.

Ouch I have misread, I thought your experience mimic the graph on the Moondrop’s.
In that case maybe its a bass heavy or did you measure with foam? Some earbuds are intended to use without foam attached.
But yeah like @baskingshark said, earbuds are the most difficult one to measure compared to headphones and IEMs, a slight movement will affecting the result so much, the different ear anatomy concha, and foam or no foam used.
Thanks for clarify

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

Haha.. it's a mini aful P8 cheapie with great tight quality bass! I don't burn in, just keep hearing em but the trebles did smoothen out I must say.

Leo, do some burnin if you can and try. Might work for you. As you seem to be fine with the quality for short sessions; burn in could do the job.

Btw I stuck to that goey stock eartips and all on switches. Not a shoutfest like og Simgot for sure. And way better bass and technicalities. @o0genesis0o and other P8 lovers, get em I say!

And
Awaiting my earbuds - oh ho forgot its name! had ordered couple of days back on leo and dynamiceears suggestion. Iirc Yincrow X6 or some such name. Should come by tomorrow, I hope.

The bass is special sauce huh? They play in the same playground as my Shangri-la's, which are also 4+1 (with 4 Sonion BAs), just like the ZS10, that Zeos and HBB loved, and they are in the same league, at $230 vs $35. The Shangs have better depth of field and imaging over all, and way deeper sub bass/mid bass presence, but aside from that, pretty close, so KZ's tuners did an amazing job with what they were given. EDIT : I'm on UUUU switches.

I was listening to some jazz on 320 mp3's on the Sony A306, and I actually forgot these were lossy files, listening to the KZ.

 

[droid23]

Agree, the ZS10 Pro 2 are a nice and budget friendly revelation. Everything is there, the technicalities, separation, detail, aso ... but what I miss is a bit of note weight and fullness of sound. Compared to other sets I have (concerning note weight and timbre) and not in general of course, because the sound signature is too different, e.g. the DUNU SA6 MkII as well as the Himalaya have way more "authority" in instruments and voices. I constantly catch myself cranking up the volume with the ZS10 Pro 2... Then they become definitely better, but not very healthy for your hearing in longer listening sessions.

 

[Jmop]

Falcon Ultra, ok. This thing is smooooth baby, bass is my fav part. Punchy and meaty. Stage and separation are really nice. The pacing seems about right too, balanced might throw it off, but it could definitely benefit from a source that airs out the very top. Transients aren’t sharp but upper mids are definitely in your face, I can still turn this up fairly easily. Actually, nah, it needs balanced to plant that bass more, it goes deep enough but I’m craving a touch more weight.

 

[Redcarmoose]

Who? Read the review to learn the riddle...........if you have the time?
https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/tangzu-x-hbb-xuan-nv.27168/reviews#review-33992

 

[Singaravelan]

Agree, the ZS10 Pro 2 are a nice and budget friendly revelation. Everything is there, the technicalities, separation, detail, aso ... but what I miss is a bit of note weight and fullness of sound. Compared to other sets I have (concerning note weight and timbre) and not in general of course, because the sound signature is too different, e.g. the DUNU SA6 MkII as well as the Himalaya have way more "authority" in instruments and voices. I constantly catch myself cranking up the volume with the ZS10 Pro 2... Then they become definitely better, but not very healthy for your hearing in longer listening sessions.

Joebloggs dynamics is the magic answer! But yeah... Agree on the fullness. It depends on the genres.

 

[WAON303]

On my Miroak ii, some Ambient -techno

Courtesy you and superuser, listening to music i wouldn't normally hear early morning.


2024 remastered version of Fires of Ork

I have a couple of FAX CDs in my physical collection, mostly the old trance stuff that's heavily overshadowed by the many ambient releases this label churned over the years.

Always thought this release was some of that beatless ambient music I usually don't care for but there's some really good ambient techno in here I ignored for like 13 years.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

Btw I have high hope for the TRN Medusa.
It is built from same DLC third gen like Conch and Conch driver is really2 good.
If this thing have similar trebles extension like Conch, it will be a killer IEM since this Medusa is 12mm driver (bass impact baby, yes size does matter for the real air impact). It can be good IEM to mod, but I will wait for the graph first, usually Paul Wasabi quite fast about FR graph.
And that beautiful DD shell combined with the transparent shell is pure art

The bass design reminds me of the design on my Shangri-la dynamic driver, except the Shangs are lime green. Mine is on the way, and I'm hoping they arrive as fast as the TRN ST7, which arrives in about a week, which is blazing fast for China delivery. By comparison, my Hydros were ordered almost two weeks ago and the ZS10 took one month. Can't wait to try these out along with the Conch.

 

[droid23]

Who? Read the review to learn the riddle...........if you have the time?
https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/tangzu-x-hbb-xuan-nv.27168/reviews#review-33992

@Redcarmoose said: "...this is one IEM that contradicts some of the graph, and makes a reality that 8kHz peak energy oppose from it being just measurement resonances. As such that forward energy combined with the rest makes this IEM way less musical in the end, in comparison to the XUAN NV! Sure it is good for the money, but will ask for less volume levels in playback due to such strict Nurse Ratched character!"

Hehe, I don't know if I solved the riddle, but yes, the not uncommon 4kHz and 8kHz resonance peaks in 1DD's are mostly a design flaw of not too well engineered and integrated drivers in IMHO "off the shelf" shelfs . How much they annoy you depends on your individual hearing prefs, but they are there in too many 1DD's or?

Edit: I mentioned earlier when looking on the FQ graph of the upcoming X Akros 1DD, that there's a 8kHz peak which worries me a bit... Might easily be such a resonance peak. Hope he can smooth it out in the final product?

 

[atechreviews]

I just got the Moondrop U-2 in today and haven't spent too much time with them yet so I'm curious if you've measured them with or without foams.

I also had the Yinman 600 in use with my desktop amp for a couple weeks, but I ended up returning them. They were way too muddy and veiled to me with foams and unfortunately I couldn't get a good fit without foams. What's interesting is that your U-2 impressions are pretty much how I heard the Yinman 600.

I've only used the U-2 without any foams, but so far they sound more clear to me in comparison. Not the best, but still clearer than the Yinman 600 set I previously had. That just goes to show that all ears are different

Thank you for sharing your experience. It's true that everyone's ears are different due to varying anatomies. I'm glad you like them and happy for you. Honestly, I can't remember if I measured them with foam or not. For me, the vocals are clear, though a bit in the background. I reduced the bass, and the vocals became much better while still maintaining ample bass. I'm curious to hear your listening impressions about the bass, mid-range, and treble of the U-2.

 

[atechreviews]

We also have Apple to blame for the loss of the 3.5 mm jack on phones.

Having said that, this propeitiary cash grab decision from them did kick start the dongle revolution of the past few months (which admittedly can give good sound for cheap).






That has happened a few times to me. I messaged the seller on Ali and they claimed it is apparently cheaper to send it there via that route?

Anyway I will keep an eye on tracking just to make sure it ain't a fake tracking number shenanigan that Ali sellers use to bypass the penalties for not shipping out the product within a time window.






It is sad but being average or even above average in today's chifi scene is the same as a death sentence.

Hypetrains come and go weekly so most stuff are forgotten and relegated to a footnote on forums come next week, when a new shiny toy comes.





Thanks for taking one for the team!!






The only correct headfi answer is all 3.







Bro, this is the common consensus in the earbuds thread and amongst earbud enthusiasts:

Earbud graphs are a meme.

They are the most finicky transducers in terms of fit.
So even slight movements in positioning of the bud on a coupler will skew the graph tremendously. A few mm will make the graphs amazingly different.

Not to mention different foam covers, depth of insertion, sound card etc.

Also, a earbud that shows a certain graph on a coupler doesn't translate to what the end user hears, as that is only for that particular coupler insertion. Earbud positioning and ear anatomy will change the final perceived sound from the coupler graph, much more than headphones or iems.

For that reason, most in the earbud threads don't measure or provide graphs due to the huge inter and intra user variability. They are perhaps only useful for the same user measuring and comparing two earbuds on the same coupler for tonal differences, even that doesn't translate to what that user will hear in the ears.

Thank you for letting me know. Honestly, I had no idea and I admit I know almost nothing about earbuds. Today I learned something new. It seems that the curve I posted earlier is not useful, so I will remove it from my previous post to avoid giving anyone the wrong idea. I listened again, and my impressions remain the same. I hope others enjoy their U-2 as well.